Harps in Seligman to open Aug. 10

Job fair to be held July 9 in Seligman at city hall

Harps Food Stores recently purchased four buildings in Missouri, and Seligman will be the first to open its doors as a new grocery store.

The food store announced that four of the nine locations purchased from Walmart will open as Harps stores over the next 11 weeks. Those locations include: Seligman and Anderson in Missouri, and Gravette and Cedarville in Arkansas. The stores will sell groceries and fuel, but will not have pharmacies.

"We're excited that they're opening up in Seligman," said Garry Thornton, Seligman mayor. "It's going to be nice to have another business open to help share growth in the community."

Thornton also said he was happy the store is bringing jobs back to the community, and that residents will no longer have to commute to Cassville or Arkansas to buy groceries and necessities.

The Seligman store will open Aug. 10, and the Anderson location will open Aug. 24. Gravette, Ark., will open Aug. 3, and Cedarville, Ark., will open Sept. 7 .

Applications are now being accepted for approximately 170 associates that will be needed to staff the stores in the four locations, as well as in Gentry, Ark. Interested applicants may apply online at HarpsCareers.com. The store will also be holding job fairs in each respective city.

In Seligman, a job fair will be held on July 9 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at City Hall, 29144 Main Street.

Harps bought four buildings in Missouri as part of a nine-building portfolio purchase from Walmart, and buildings in Noel and Prairie Grove are being remodeled and will be put up for sale.

"We either have or are working on other facilities in those locations, so we will not be reopening the Walmart Express facilities," said J. Max Van Hoose, vice president of store planning for Harps. "We're buying those and eventually reselling the real estate."

Harps is the largest employee-owned company based in Arkansas, and the 30th largest employee-owned company in the U.S. The chain currently operates 79 stores in northern and central Arkansas, southern Missouri and eastern Oklahoma.

In addition to its current project list, Harps is also working on stores in Vilonia, Ark., and DeSoto, Kan., which are expected to open in the fall of 2016. In 2017, a new store is slated to open in Pocahontas, Ark., replacing existing facilities in Lincoln, Ark., and Green Forest, Ark.